The alertness of a driver of a vehicle to the traffic conditions can fluctuate considerably during a journey. It is thus possible for a driver to identify, or respectively react to, critical situations which suddenly occur later than would be the case if he was fully alert. The driver's state of alertness can be monitored, for example, by means of an interior camera, wherein, if it is identified that the driver is not sufficiently alert, he can receive a notification, by way of example, of this deficiency.
Warnings generated by vehicle systems for a driver of a vehicle regarding identified critical traffic situations are usually based on physical calculations, by way of example with respect to a collision that may possible occur. The disadvantage of these is that even if the driver is alert, a warning might be triggered too late, in the event of an imminent potentially critical traffic situation, such that the driver does not have enough time left to recognize the possible critical circumstance in the traffic conditions. This is particularly true of drivers who have relatively little driving experience of the relevant traffic situations or of particularly complex traffic situations which can overwhelm even experienced drivers. As a result, traffic safety can be considerably compromised. On the other hand, a driver can also be distracted by warnings which are output and which he considers to be too premature or respectively unnecessary, and this can therefore likewise jeopardize traffic safety.